Webpack version 4.1.1 represents a minor update to the popular JavaScript module bundler, building upon the solid foundation established in version 4.1.0. Both releases share a core mission: efficiently packaging CommonJs/AMD modules for browser deployment, enabling developers to split codebases into manageable bundles loaded on demand. This allows for optimized performance and a smoother user experience. The versions also maintain consistent support for loaders, which preprocess diverse file types like JSON, JSX, ES7, CSS, and Less, extending Webpack's capabilities.
Examining the dependency lists reveals consistency in both dependencies and devDependencies sections, hinting that the core functionality remains largely unchanged. This suggests that 4.1.1 might focus on internal improvements, bug fixes, or performance enhancements rather than introducing major new features. Even the unpackedSize is quite similar but with a slight decrease in 4.1.1, suggesting optimization.
For developers, upgrading from 4.1.0 to 4.1.1 should present a straightforward process with minimal disruption. The shared dependency landscape implies compatibility and reduces the risk of breaking changes. This incremental update likely refines the developer experience, stabilizes existing features, and delivers subtle performance gains. While specific changes may be undocumented, users can expect a more polished version of the bundler they already appreciate.
All the vulnerabilities related to the version 4.1.1 of the package
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) in micromatch
The NPM package micromatch prior to version 4.0.8 is vulnerable to Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS). The vulnerability occurs in micromatch.braces() in index.js because the pattern .* will greedily match anything. By passing a malicious payload, the pattern matching will keep backtracking to the input while it doesn't find the closing bracket. As the input size increases, the consumption time will also increase until it causes the application to hang or slow down. There was a merged fix but further testing shows the issue persisted prior to https://github.com/micromatch/micromatch/pull/266. This issue should be mitigated by using a safe pattern that won't start backtracking the regular expression due to greedy matching.
Uncontrolled resource consumption in braces
The NPM package braces fails to limit the number of characters it can handle, which could lead to Memory Exhaustion. In lib/parse.js, if a malicious user sends "imbalanced braces" as input, the parsing will enter a loop, which will cause the program to start allocating heap memory without freeing it at any moment of the loop. Eventually, the JavaScript heap limit is reached, and the program will crash.
Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS)
npm ssri 5.2.2-6.0.1 and 7.0.0-8.0.0, processes SRIs using a regular expression which is vulnerable to a denial of service. Malicious SRIs could take an extremely long time to process, leading to denial of service. This issue only affects consumers using the strict option.
Cross-Site Scripting in serialize-javascript
Versions of serialize-javascript prior to 2.1.1 are vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The package fails to sanitize serialized regular expressions. This vulnerability does not affect Node.js applications.
Upgrade to version 2.1.1 or later.
Insecure serialization leading to RCE in serialize-javascript
serialize-javascript prior to 3.1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary code via the function "deleteFunctions" within "index.js".
An object such as {"foo": /1"/, "bar": "a\"@__R-<UID>-0__@"} was serialized as {"foo": /1"/, "bar": "a\/1"/}, which allows an attacker to escape the bar key. This requires the attacker to control the values of both foo and bar and guess the value of <UID>. The UID has a keyspace of approximately 4 billion making it a realistic network attack.
